Laying & patterns: starting point, direction, bond
Guides to starting points, laying direction, and patterns. Plan cut rows, herringbone, diagonal layouts, and continuous grids across rooms.
Guides
Answers to common questions when laying.
How to plan a tile layout: from measurements to the first row
Plan a tile layout step by step: measure the room, set reference lines, check edge cuts, compare patterns, and order the right amount of material.
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Half, third or quarter offset: which tile pattern works best?
Compare half, third and quarter offset patterns: understand appearance, lippage risk, edge cuts, and material waste before installation.
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How to plan a laminate layout: rows, stagger and edge pieces
Plan laminate before laying: choose direction, size the first and last rows, stagger end joints, allow expansion gaps, and calculate packs.
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Laying tiles: where do you start – centre or wall?
Centre or wall edge? The axis decides symmetry and material demand. Analysis of 500 rooms plus a live comparison of both starting points on the floor plan.
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Where does the cut row go? Which wall can take it
The cut row has to go somewhere. Which wall can take it, how narrow a border strip may get, and how to see both on the floor plan before you glue.
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Tiling a hallway: across or lengthwise?
In a hallway the laying direction decides looks and waste. Numbers from 35 hallway cases plus a side-by-side comparison of both directions on the floor plan.
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Diagonal laying: the starting point and what it costs in waste
Learn how to set the starting axis for diagonal tiles, plan edge cuts, and estimate extra waste using results from 500 room layouts.
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Laminate laying direction: which way is right?
Find the right laminate flooring direction for light, room shape, doors, and joints. Preview the layout and avoid narrow edge strips before laying.
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Laying vinyl flooring: click vinyl vs. glue-down vinyl
Lay vinyl flooring correctly: floating click vinyl or glued-down vinyl, substrate, impact sound insulation and joint stagger at a glance.
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Laying herringbone: which corner to start?
Learn where to start a herringbone floor: set the centre axis, work symmetrically outward, and preview cuts and the starting point on your floor plan.
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Laying herringbone across multiple rooms
Plan continuous herringbone across rooms: shared grid, direction and door transitions checked on the floor plan, with combined material totals.
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Thresholds: where do you break the pattern between two rooms?
Continuous grid or a clean break in the doorway? When a shared grid across rooms pays off and how to check it on the floor plan first.
Read →This is what it looks like planned out
Real projects in the same view your clients get: floor plan, laying plan and material list – no account, no installation.
Herringbone in the living room
A rectangular room with herringbone at 45°: you can see where the centre axis sits and how the border cuts run out symmetrically all around.
- 21.84 m² · 60 × 30 herringbone
- 84 full planks, 64 cuts
- 5.01 m² waste · 12% reserve
Three-room flat, one grid
Six rooms, eleven walls, five doorways – and a single herringbone grid running through every opening. Material is calculated for the whole flat at once.
- 63.79 m² across 6 rooms
- 90 × 30 herringbone, one grid
- 334 planks · 199 cuts
Small bathroom with tub and stud wall
Under 3 m² of floor left, but two cutouts: this room produces more cut tiles than full ones – exactly where the m² rule of thumb fails.
- 2.82 m² · 30 × 60 · 2 mm joint
- 9 full tiles, 22 cuts
- 35 tiles incl. 10% reserve
Opens the read-only client view of a share – the same one you create for your own projects with Premium.
Calculators
Calculate quantities, waste and material directly on the floor plan.
Other topics
Rooms & floor plans: planning difficult situations
Period rooms, roof slopes, columns, open plans, small bathrooms: situations no formula captures.
9 articles→Material & waste: getting the quantities right
How much you really need: waste, format, joint width, offcuts, reserve and reordering.
10 articles→Terrace & outdoors: slabs, base, pedestals
Different rules outdoors: base, slope, joint width, slab quantities and support points.
5 articles→Save your plan for free
Create your account, then plan patterns, quantities and waste directly on your floor plan.